Hearing

Person with hiking backpack wearing hearing aid and looking down at an iPhone in their hand

Explore tools designed to enhance the sounds you hear, or help you stay connected without hearing a sound.

BetaLive Captions

Read along to stay in the know.

Captions can help everyone, including people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Live Captions offer real-time, on-device-generated transcriptions of conversations so you can follow along with auditory and visual media including Phone and FaceTime calls, as well as content from the web, securely on your device.1 They can even capture and caption live in-person speech. You can also customize the Live Captions window so that the size, placement, fonts, and colors suit your needs.2

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac

Beta

Captions can help everyone, including people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Live Captions offer real-time, on-device-generated transcriptions of conversations so you can follow along with auditory and visual media including Phone and FaceTime calls, as well as content from the web, securely on your device.1 They can even capture and caption live in-person speech. You can also customize the Live Captions window so that the size, placement, fonts, and colors suit your needs.2

Set up Live Captions on:

UpdatedPersonalized Audio for AirPods Pro

Fine-tune your audio experience.

Audio innovations for AirPods Pro help you stay connected in noisy environments, enhance your overall audio experience, and make it easier for you to use them across devices. With Conversation Boost, computational audio and beamforming microphones focus AirPods Pro on the voice of the person directly in front of you — helping you distinguish their speech from background noise. Face-to-face conversations in loud environments become clearer than ever. To help you better engage with more people around you, Conversation Awareness automatically lowers the volume of your audio and enhances the voices in front of you, while reducing background noise. 

Personalized Volume uses machine learning to understand environmental conditions and your listening preferences over time to automatically fine-tune the media experience to you. And switching between Apple devices with AirPods is easier than ever with Automatic Switching — your Apple devices connect quicker and more reliably, so you can seamlessly move from a favorite podcast on iPhone to a work call on Mac.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, AirPods Pro

Updated

Audio innovations for AirPods Pro help you stay connected in noisy environments, enhance your overall audio experience, and make it easier for you to use them across devices. With Conversation Boost, computational audio and beamforming microphones focus AirPods Pro on the voice of the person directly in front of you — helping you distinguish their speech from background noise. Face-to-face conversations in loud environments become clearer than ever. To help you better engage with more people around you, Conversation Awareness automatically lowers the volume of your audio and enhances the voices in front of you, while reducing background noise. 

Personalized Volume uses machine learning to understand environmental conditions and your listening preferences over time to automatically fine-tune the media experience to you. And switching between Apple devices with AirPods is easier than ever with Automatic Switching — your Apple devices connect quicker and more reliably, so you can seamlessly move from a favorite podcast on iPhone to a work call on Mac.

Set up Personalized Audio for AirPods Pro on:

Updates:

Conversation Awareness. This feature automatically lowers the volume of your audio and enhances the voices in front of you, while reducing background noise.

Personalized Volume. Using machine learning to understand environmental conditions and your listening preferences over time, Personalized Volume automatically fine-tunes the media experience to you.

Automatic Switching. Switching between Apple devices with AirPods is quicker, more reliable, and more seamless than ever.

Adaptive Audio. Adaptive Audio dynamically blends Transparency mode and Active Noise Cancellation to seamlessly tailor the noise control experience as you move between changing environments throughout your day.

UpdatedMade for iPhone hearing devices

Designed to just work. Wherever your day takes you.

Apple has worked with top manufacturers to create hearing aids, cochlear implants, and sound processors designed specifically for Apple devices.3 These advanced hearing devices provide outstanding sound quality, offer many helpful features, and are as easy to set up and use as any other Bluetooth device. Instantly apply your audiologist’s environmental presets as you go outdoors or enter noisy locations, like restaurants, without having to rely on additional remotes. When using Made for iPhone hearing devices, you can have Siri announce notifications from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac

Updated

Apple has worked with top manufacturers to create hearing aids, cochlear implants, and sound processors designed specifically for Apple devices.3 These advanced hearing devices provide outstanding sound quality, offer many helpful features, and are as easy to set up and use as any other Bluetooth device. Instantly apply your audiologist’s environmental presets as you go outdoors or enter noisy locations, like restaurants, without having to rely on additional remotes. When using Made for iPhone hearing devices, you can have Siri announce notifications from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Set up Made for iPhone hearing devices on:

Update:

Pair Made for iPhone hearing devices directly to Mac. You now have the option to pair your Made for iPhone hearing devices to your Mac and adjust them for your listening comfort in System Settings.3

Headphone Accommodations

Customize your headphones to your hearing needs.

Whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie, or talking to a loved one, Headphone Accommodations lets you customize your audio to best suit your hearing needs. Amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies based on your preferences. You can also go through a series of listening tests that help you set up as many as nine unique profiles.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, AirPods Max, AirPods Pro, AirPods, EarPods, Powerbeats, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Solo Pro

Whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie, or talking to a loved one, Headphone Accommodations lets you customize your audio to best suit your hearing needs. Amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies based on your preferences. You can also go through a series of listening tests that help you set up as many as nine unique profiles.

Set up Headphone Accommodations on:

Sound Recognition

Sound the alarm without hearing a sound.

Sound Recognition listens for certain sounds and uses on‑device intelligence to notify you when they are detected. This feature recognizes 15 different sounds — or you can train your device to listen for electronic sounds that are unique to your environment, like the beeping of appliances in your kitchen, specific types of alarms, or doorbells. You’ll receive a notification when a particular sound or alert is detected.4

Available on:

iPhone, iPad

Sound Recognition listens for certain sounds and uses on‑device intelligence to notify you when they are detected. This feature recognizes 15 different sounds — or you can train your device to listen for electronic sounds that are unique to your environment, like the beeping of appliances in your kitchen, specific types of alarms, or doorbells. You’ll receive a notification when a particular sound or alert is detected.4

Set up Sound Recognition on:

UpdatedFaceTime

Capture speech and sign. All in real time.

With high-quality video and a fast frame rate, FaceTime is a great way to communicate using sign language. It can detect when you are using sign language in Group FaceTime calls and automatically make you prominent.5 And staying connected is even easier with Live Captions in FaceTime, which can caption speech in one-on-one and Group FaceTime calls with speaker attribution, so you can easily track who is speaking during group calls.1

FaceTime makes catching up face to face more fun, too. Use simple hand gestures to fill the camera frame with effects like hearts, confetti, or fireworks.6 And if someone misses your FaceTime call, you can capture what you wanted to say in a video or audio message.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV

Updated

With high-quality video and a fast frame rate, FaceTime is a great way to communicate using sign language. It can detect when you are using sign language in Group FaceTime calls and automatically make you prominent.5 And staying connected is even easier with Live Captions in FaceTime, which can caption speech in one-on-one and Group FaceTime calls with speaker attribution, so you can easily track who is speaking during group calls.1

FaceTime makes catching up face to face more fun, too. Use simple hand gestures to fill the camera frame with effects like hearts, confetti, or fireworks.6 And if someone misses your FaceTime call, you can capture what you wanted to say in a video or audio message.

Set up FaceTime on:

Updates:

React with your hands. Use a simple hand gesture to add a reaction that fills the camera frame with fun effects like hearts, confetti, or fireworks.6

Leave a message. When someone misses your FaceTime call, record a video or audio message with all the same video effects that make you look your best in FaceTime, like Portrait mode and Studio Light. Your messages can also be played on Apple Watch.

FaceTime on Apple TV. Use your iPhone as a camera and start a call directly from the FaceTime app on Apple TV, or hand off the call from your iPhone to your TV.7

Live Listen

Tune out the noise
and hear more of what matters.

Live Listen is an assistive listening feature that helps you have conversations in loud places. Just turn on the feature and move your device toward the people you’re talking with. Audio is picked up by the device’s microphone and sent to your wireless headphones or Made for iPhone hearing devices, so you can hear what they’re saying more clearly.8

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, AirPods Max, AirPods Pro, AirPods, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Fit Pro, Made for iPhone hearing devices

Live Listen is an assistive listening feature that helps you have conversations in loud places. Just turn on the feature and move your device toward the people you’re talking with. Audio is picked up by the device’s microphone and sent to your wireless headphones or Made for iPhone hearing devices, so you can hear what they’re saying more clearly.8

Set up Live Listen on:

Sensory Alerts

See your alerts.
Or feel them.

Your device lets you know when something’s up, in a way you’ll notice. Choose visual or vibrating alerts for incoming Phone and FaceTime calls, new text messages, new and sent mail, and calendar events. You can set an LED light flash for incoming calls or have your iPhone display a photo of the caller. If you’re on your Mac, have it flash its screen when an app needs your attention. Or if you’re on the go, turn on the Taptic Engine on your Apple Watch to give you a gentle tap every time a notification comes in.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch

Your device lets you know when something’s up, in a way you’ll notice. Choose visual or vibrating alerts for incoming Phone and FaceTime calls, new text messages, new and sent mail, and calendar events. You can set an LED light flash for incoming calls or have your iPhone display a photo of the caller. If you’re on your Mac, have it flash its screen when an app needs your attention. Or if you’re on the go, turn on the Taptic Engine on your Apple Watch to give you a gentle tap every time a notification comes in.

Set up Sensory Alerts on:

Real‑Time Text (RTT)

Make and receive RTT calls right on your device.

Use your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch to make and receive RTT calls.9 Standard texting involves composing an entire message and tapping Send, but RTT provides instant transmission of a message as it is being composed (as well as support for braille displays). Live Captions can also be used with RTT to automatically display captions during Phone calls. Transcripts for RTT calls are saved in your call history.10

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch

Real‑Time Text (RTT)

Use your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch to make and receive RTT calls.9 Standard texting involves composing an entire message and tapping Send, but RTT provides instant transmission of a message as it is being composed (as well as support for braille displays). Live Captions can also be used with RTT to automatically display captions during Phone calls. Transcripts for RTT calls are saved in your call history.10

Set up RTT on:

Mono Audio

Find the right balance for you.

Stereo recordings usually have distinct left- and right-channel audio tracks. Mono Audio can help streamline the differences by playing both audio channels in both ears. You can adjust the balance for greater volume in either ear, so you won’t miss a single note of a concerto or a beat of your favorite song.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV

Stereo recordings usually have distinct left- and right-channel audio tracks. Mono Audio can help streamline the differences by playing both audio channels in both ears. You can adjust the balance for greater volume in either ear, so you won’t miss a single note of a concerto or a beat of your favorite song.

Set up Mono Audio on:

Closed Captions

Customizable captions for movies, TV shows, and podcasts.

Closed captions are a text transcription displayed onscreen in sync with a video’s dialogue and action. In addition to transcribing speech in a scene, they also capture nonverbal communication, music, and sound effects. Supported in apps like the Apple TV app, closed captions are available in more than 40 languages for movies, TV shows, videos, and podcasts — just look for the CC icon. Customize captions with different styles and fonts, including styles that are larger and outlined for better legibility.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV

Closed captions are a text transcription displayed onscreen in sync with a video’s dialogue and action. In addition to transcribing speech in a scene, they also capture nonverbal communication, music, and sound effects. Supported in apps like the Apple TV app, closed captions are available in more than 40 languages for movies, TV shows, videos, and podcasts — just look for the CC icon. Customize captions with different styles and fonts, including styles that are larger and outlined for better legibility.

Set up Closed Captions on:

UpdatedMessages

Chat through type, photos, smileys, and more.

Start a conversation without needing to say or hear a word. Send unlimited messages to anyone using the Messages app. Or send a group message to keep everyone in the loop. Messages makes it easy and fun to stay connected, with even more ways to be expressive with every text. Enhance or personalize your messages with photos, videos, locations, links, Memoji, and stickers. And you can effortlessly keep up with every conversation in real time by jumping to the earliest unread message in a group chat, or reply directly by swiping right on a message. Audio messages are also transcribed in Messages, so you can read them in the moment.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch

Updated

Start a conversation without needing to say or hear a word. Send unlimited messages to anyone using the Messages app. Or send a group message to keep everyone in the loop. Messages makes it easy and fun to stay connected, with even more ways to be expressive with every text. Enhance or personalize your messages with photos, videos, locations, links, Memoji, and stickers. And you can effortlessly keep up with every conversation in real time by jumping to the earliest unread message in a group chat, or reply directly by swiping right on a message. Audio messages are also transcribed in Messages, so you can read them in the moment.

Set up Messages on:

Updates:

Audio message transcriptions. Audio messages are now transcribed, so you can read or listen to them depending on your needs and preferences.

Catch-up and swipe to reply. A new catch-up arrow lets you jump to the first message you haven’t seen in a conversation. And you can swipe right on any message to send a reply.

All your stickers in one place. The new stickers drawer lets you access all your Live Stickers, emoji, Memoji, and other sticker packs in one place. Your stickers sync with iCloud so they are available on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.

All your iMessage apps in one place. Tap the new plus button to view all the things you send the most — like photos, audio messages, and your location. You can swipe up to view the rest of your iMessage apps.

Check In. Let your loved ones know you’ve arrived safely by automatically notifying them when you reach your destination. If you stop making progress, the feature checks in with you, and if you don’t respond, it shares helpful information with your friend, like the location, battery level, and cell service status of your iPhone. Your shared information is end-to-end encrypted.

Noise app

Track your hearing health.

The Noise app tracks decibel levels of the ambient sounds around you, helping you identify when sound levels in your environment, or from your headphones, could negatively affect your hearing. When you configure the Noise app on Apple Watch and connect compatible headphones, Control Center shows you if the sounds playing through the headphones reach unsafe levels.11 And all your information is stored securely in the Health app on iPhone for easy access to your data whenever you need it.

Available on:

Apple Watch

The Noise app tracks decibel levels of the ambient sounds around you, helping you identify when sound levels in your environment, or from your headphones, could negatively affect your hearing. When you configure the Noise app on Apple Watch and connect compatible headphones, Control Center shows you if the sounds playing through the headphones reach unsafe levels.11 And all your information is stored securely in the Health app on iPhone for easy access to your data whenever you need it.

Set up the Noise app on:

Apple Watch

UpdatedSiri

Your digital assistant is ready. Just type the word.

Siri, your digital assistant, can help you with the things you do every day — all through your keyboard. Type to Siri makes it easy to get the help you need right away, even on your Apple Watch. Interact with Siri using the keyboard and text field on Apple Watch. Ask questions, set up reminders, issue commands, and more.12 Made for iPhone hearing devices can also use Siri to announce notifications for iPhone and iPad.

Available on:

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod, AirPods

Updated

Siri, your digital assistant, can help you with the things you do every day — all through your keyboard. Type to Siri makes it easy to get the help you need right away, even on your Apple Watch. Interact with Siri using the keyboard and text field on Apple Watch. Ask questions, set up reminders, issue commands, and more.12 Made for iPhone hearing devices can also use Siri to announce notifications for iPhone and iPad.

Set up Siri on:

Updates:

Customize Siri speed. Customize Siri to speak at a slower or faster rate, depending on your needs and preferences.

Siri activation. Siri now works when you just say “Siri” as well as “Hey Siri.”13

Back-to-back requests. Once you activate Siri, you can make multiple requests back to back without needing to say “Siri” again.14

Go deeper with videos from Apple.

Learn tips, tricks, and how-tos for hearing features from Apple Support on YouTube.

Watch now

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